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It's been over two years since Kobe Bryant passed away. But the Los Angeles Lakers icon still has his imprints on the the sporting world – and not just in basketball. Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr is just one of thousands of professional athletes that the Mamba has impacted for the better.
Carr was recently vocal about how one small interaction with Kobe sent him down a positive direction as he enters nearly a decade into his NFL career. He's always idolized Bryant and the work he puts in behind the scenes, which is why even in the preparation side of things he took inspiration from his one-word advice – “stretch”.
Via Vic Tafur of The Athletic:
“For a lot of athletes, the posterior change, especially for a quarterback, a rotational athlete or a pitcher rotation, you gotta do some things to counter that and to keep yourself balanced, especially if you’re going to rotate and then go play golf afterward,” Derek Carr said. “And, so, I have a stretch class that I do once a week, and that’s one thing that Kobe taught me. He said ‘stretch.’
When you achieved as much as Kobe Bryant did throughout his NBA career – and in life – your advice holds a lot of weight in the minds of those trying to achieve that same level of success. It was no different for Derek Carr who took to the words from the Lakers icon like gospel.
“(Bryant) was such a mentor, someone I looked up to. So anything he said, I said, ‘I might as well start this stretching stuff.’ And it’s really made me feel like I’m a rookie. … I’m 31 but I feel like I’m 21. And I think recovery-wise, that’s helped me the most.”
Derek Carr and the Raiders have a chance to make some serious noise after a strong offseason. Getting some stretches throughout the season would likely do wonders for the QB.
